Steamed Trout with Chive-Tarragon Butter with Cous Cous and Artichokes in a White-Wine Garlic Sauce

I really do love cooking.

This time up, it's trout, artichokes, and cous cous. The trout was a new dish but the artichokes are one of my favorites. In fact, in a testament to this dish, I served this to someone who had never eaten an artichoke - or even knew what one looked like. Not a big vegetable fan, he dove in eagerly and declared this a definite success. The garlic and wine flavors provide a delicate, light flavor that pairs perfectly with the rather mild vegetable that is just so much fun to eat. The heart, having soaked in the sauce for a while as each leaf was picked, was especially tender and deliciously flavored. So ready to try this?

Artichokes with Garlic White-Wine Sauce
Like so many others, this artichoke recipe comes not from me but from Cooking Light. You will need to start on the artichokes first since the vegetables themselves will need to boil for 45 minutes and the garlic used in the recipe will need to broil for equally as long. While they are cooking you can prepare all of your other ingredients for this dinner. Make sure not to begin the fish or cous cous too early or they will get cold as the artichokes continue to cook.

I mostly followed this recipe, but left out the parsley as unnecessary. I pour the sauce directly over the artichokes (after placing them in a bowl) so most of the sauce ends up fairly well hidden below and around the bottoms of the artichokes. As I pull each leaf free I dip the "meaty" part into the sauce to provide an extra flavor.

Hint: If you broil an extra head of garlic in exactly the same manner described in the recipe it makes a delicious spread on fresh french bread. Simply scoop out a clove and mash it as you spread it. The long broiling process erases the spicier, sharp taste of garlic and leaves it with a creamy texture and almost sweet after taste. Perfection!

Steamed Trout with Chive Tarragon Butter
This was a new recipe for me and one I will absolutely repeat again. I am a fan of "en papillot" recipes. Watch for others to come out on this blog as well! They produce a particularly moist fish that falls apart at the touch of a fork and melts in your mouth. It is a typically mediterranean style of preparing fish but has now been adopted across many cultures.

Most en papillot recipes call for parchment paper. Unfortunately, I still have not purchased any so I typically use foil instead. I have always found foil to work equally well yet also contain any liquid overflows that may occur. If you, too, like to overload your fish packets then foil might be a reasonable route for you.

Cous Cous
I hate to say it, but cous cous comes out of a box. I promise this is one of the few times you will hear me say that, but there is simply no other good way to make cous cous (at least not easily.) And the boxes actually taste quite good.

I purchased some cous cous from Near East, specifically their toasted pine nut. I recommend the brand and all of their flavors, as well as the original. (If you make the original sprinkle in some brown sugar to give a little extra flavor.) However, I am sure there are many other good brands out there so feel free to experiment! My Moroccan blood gets picky about the best cous cous!

Follow the instructions on the box, but typically you boil water (sometimes with a spice packet or a little bit of butter) and then stir in the dried cous cous once the water is boiling and immediately remove from the heat. If the box tells you to let it sit for 5 minutes with the lid on, follow that rule! If you continually let the heat out by taking the lid off, the cous cous will not absorb the water or become sufficientally light and fluffy. So no peaking!

Serve the cous cous with your fish so that the sauce mixes. Enjoy!